Page 31 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

His harsh voice rasps through clenched teeth.

"Omega?"

I hum softly and give him the biggest smile I can manage. "Yeah, big guy. I’m your Omega."

Viper shakes his head, his fists clenching and releasing at his sides. "You’re not. I saw you and held you. You were…"

His voice breaks on a whimper before he can finish.

"I know," I say, keeping my hand steady as I reach for him. "But I’m real. Come and see."

‘Halley, be careful,’ Shade warns through the bond, but doesn’t intervene.

Viper stares at my hand, blinking fast. His shoulders bunch as he fights against the rage still bubbling under his skin.

One wrong move, and he could tear my hand from my body.

I push past the pain in my bruised vocal cords and manage the gentlest purr.

It's soft and broken, barely strong enough to be heard.

But Viper hears it, and it works instantly.

His shoulders relax, sloping downward as the tension drains from him, and after a long, trembling exhale, he reaches for me.

Our fingertips brush.

Tingles explode as if it's the first time we've touched all over again.

Viper stares at our hands.

Then his wild eyes roam over me with an urgent hunger. He drinks in my face, my throat, my exposed mating gland, my healed neck, my chest, my hips, and finally lingering on my breasts.

A low growl rolls out of him.

It's not threatening.

I know that sound. It's the growl of an Alpha who is possessive, reverent, and starved for his Omega.

His body is reacting faster than his mind, and his hips make aborted, sharp jerks.

It draws my eyes down to his beltline.

Oh.

A turgid length grows beneath my gaze, tenting his trousers.

Well, I guess this is how our first encounter in the hospital went too.

I calmed the beast, and now I have to tame him.

"Uh, Sparkles," Blaze calls from behind Viper, scenting the air. It no longer smells like corrupted Alpha. There is a heady, unmistakable musk in the air. "Don't think LT wants to kill you anymore. He wants to fuck you up in a whole new way."

Viper steps closer.

A little gasp slips free as he crowds me back against the tree, careful not to crush me, but feral enough to make every nerve in my body wake up.

He lowers his face to my throat and drags the tip of his nose along my jaw, breathing me in like I am the only thing left in the world he cares about.